Environmental Problems in the District Court

Monday, August 28, 2017

The latest problem, as told to me by the District Executive, is the air conditioning circulator pump, in the sub basement broke and the warning alarm was also not working properly. Therefore, the water, that was supposed to be circulated out, was not pumped out and collected; probably for a number of weeks. The backwash water collected and permeated up through the walls, soaking carpets, tiles and walls.

The situation was fixed, last week. Administration closed Arraignment B and courtrooms 11 and 12 on the third floor, in order to fix the problems that the water caused. An environmental study was done by OGS (Office of General Services), coincidentally by the same company that COBANC hired a few years ago (NOT the County or the State), to assess the environmental impact on the air quality for the employees. I have a copy of the report and it appears to say that, at this time, there is no airborne (mold, etc,) areas of concern.

Administration has ordered dehumidifiers and will be replacing the carpet in Arraignment B and fixing water damage to the wood, tile and drywall in all affected areas. If you have any areas of concern, not addressed here, please email them to the union office, "Attention Billy" and we will immediately look into them. I can be reached by email at billy.imandt@cobanc.org.

Once the project is finished, we will have the opportunity to evaluate the work and even hire our own environmental study company if we think there are still situations that need to be addressed.